Shattered World...Healed
by Kameka
Summary: After her kidnapping, Mija's family does their best to help her get on with her life, with help from a young entrepreneur.


Standard disclaimer: not mine, no money made. Not beta'ed, all mistakes are mine.

Shattered World…Healed

By Kameka

* * * *

Mija Woo's hand shook slightly as she reached out to knock on Sara Pezzini's door. A neighbor had let her into the building thinking she had lost her key and it was only that fact which kept her uncle's partner from knowing she was already there. Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the heavy wood only to step back when a young man opened the door.

"Hi," he greeted with a grin. "Pez's on an Italian run; they called back and told us their delivery guy's backed up and you know her. Hates to wait."

Mija nodded distractedly wondering if she should just turn around and leave. If she could. She wasn't normally shy around guys, but ever since her run-in the month before with Carl Dalack, she had become downright timid.

"You okay?" the unidentified man asked as he took a step forward, halting in his progress as she matched his forward motion with another step back.

Mija nodded and licked her lips. "Is she coming back soon?"

"Yeah, Want to wait?" His answer was a quick shake of her head, dark hair flying. "Okay. Who do you want me to tell her came by?"

She looked down at her hands, surprised to see them shaking again and quickly put them behind her back. "Mija."

He nodded. "Okay, Mija." He was about to continue when she turned and walked quickly down the hall, glancing behind her every few moments as if expecting pursuit. Shaking his head, Gabriel Bowman shut the door and returned to his place on the sofa where he had been reading one of Pez's mystery novels. Losing track of time, he didn't look up until Sara herself walked into the apartment, one hand balancing a shallow cardboard box piled with containers.

She set the box down on the table before looking at him. "Couldn't even set the table?"

He set the book down on the cushion and stood with a grin. "I'm not your housewife, Pez. Besides, you're the one who didn't wanna wait."

She muttered under her breath and went to collect the plates. She had been feeling a bit lonely, hence the impromptu invitation to Gabriel earlier in the day. She had no idea what they would talk about other than the Witchblade, but he was her friend, right?

"Hey, Pez, you had a visitor."

Sara set the plates down and looked around, lingering at the window she had caught Ian Nottingham sitting by more times then she could count. Seeing no one, she raised a brow at Gabriel.

"Came through the door, not the window. Man, you have some weird friends," he laughed.

"Who was it?" she asked as she set the silverware and serving spoons out.

"Said her name was Mija," he answered as he began pulling Styrofoam containers out.

"Mija?" she glanced up, startled. "Did she say what she wanted?"

Gabriel shook his head and went to get two bottled waters from the fridge. "Seemed scared."

Sara looked towards the phone, wondering if she should call Danny and let him know she had shown up there. Just then, the phone began ringing. Automatically picking it up, she gave her usual greeting before pausing. "Yeah, she was just here," she said, obviously talking to Danny about Mija. "She's probably on her way back home," she soothed, before "Yeah, call me when she gets there." She hung up the phone and sat down at the table shaking her head. "Sorry, Gabriel."

"No problem. Something about that girl?" he asked.

Sara nodded as she began dishing up the food. "My partner Danny, her uncle."

"Cool." He sat silently for a minute before talking again. "She okay?"

Sara hesitated, wondering how much she should tell him. She'd been hearing about Mija's mood change from Danny at work and no matter how hard he tried, his niece was still refusing to go to counseling. Without a thought, she twisted the Witchblade on her wrist. It was that which had brought Gabriel into her life, the young man proving himself to be a loyal friend. It was that which had saved Mija's life, showing her in visions where the young girl was being held. 

"Pez, if you don't wanna tell me, you don't have to," he told her during her hesitation.

"It's not that. It's just that the last month she's been through some pretty rough things. Things no one should have to go through," she explained in a sad voice.

Gabriel nodded, his quick mind working. He remembered something about the niece of a police detective being kidnapped and almost murdered about a month ago. "Carl Dalack?" Sara quickly looked at him in surprise and he shrugged. "Good memory and it made sense."

"Yeah, Carl Dalack," she agreed as she started eating.

Gabriel followed her example, taking two bites before saying "She'll get better. How can she not? She has you and her uncle in her corner."

Touched by his simple faith, she nodded. A few minutes later, she caught his attention again. "Gabriel?"

"Yeah?" he asked without looking up.

"Would you be willing to do me a favor?"

"Sure, Pez." He grinned at her. "When have I ever let my favorite Homicide detective down?"  


"Never, but this won't be something simple."

"And the stuff you usually ask me to do are simple? Man, you gotta read the dictionary more often!"

"Knock it off, smart ass. I'm being serious here." She waited a moment as he seemed to flip a switch and become the serious young man who had opened his own business. "Do you think if I introduce you to Mija and you hit it off, you can be her friend? Like I said, she's pretty shaken and her trust is about nonexistent when dealing with people she doesn't know. Especially guys."

Gabriel made the automatic leap in logic and mock grimaced. "And you want me to get to know her since I'm unassuming and non-threatening, right?"

Sara laughed at the look of distaste on his face and nodded. "Pretty much."

"You know, for most guys my age," he pointed out, "you'd have just really insulted me."

"Good thing you're not most guys, right?"

"Right."

Sara waved her fork. "Now that we're in agreement, kid, dig in."

"Yes, Mom," he answered, laughing when he saw the look on her face.

* * *

The following week, Gabriel made good on his promise, showing up for a casual meeting at Sara's apartment; a casual meeting that he and Sara had painstakingly prepared.

There was a knock on the door and Sara waved Mija towards it from where she was making hot chocolate on the stove. "Would you get that?"

"Sure," the young woman answered. She opened the door and stepped back in shock when she saw it was the unidentified man from her last visit here.

"Who is it?" Sara called from the kitchen. When there was no response, she went to the door herself, feigning surprise at seeing Gabriel. "Hi, Gabriel." She looked to see Mija still frozen in surprise. Her heart breaking at a memory of the over-confident teen who had been driving Danny insane, she made the introductions. "Mija, this is Gabriel Bowman, a good friend of mine. Gabriel, Mija Woo, Danny's niece as well as a friend."

Gabriel politely repeated "Mija" since that was also the name she had given to him before as he reached out to shake her hand, his own dropping to his side when she flinched back.

"Oh!" Mija exclaimed before flushing. Tossing a haunted look at Sara and an apologetic one at Gabriel, she turned and hurried to the bathroom.

"Sorry, Pez."

Sara shook her head and closed the door behind him. "Don't worry about it. Why don't you grab a seat while I go calm her down?" She didn't wait for a nod of acknowledgement before going to knock on the bathroom door. "Mija," she called out softly.

"Go away."

"Mija, you can't hide in my bathroom for the rest of the night."

"Is he gone?"

"No…"

"Then I'm staying right here!"

Sara sighed and rested her forehead on the door. "If you won't come out, can I come in?" Her answer was the snick of the lock being unlocked and she opened the door slightly to let herself in. "You okay?"

Mija stepped backwards until her back was against the shower wall and slowly sank to the floor. "No, I'm not!" she snapped, elaborating when Sara stayed silent. "I can't help myself. I keep… I keep seeing Evan. Dalack. Whatever he's being called now."

Sara sank down on the floor next to her and leaned her head against the cool tile. "That's normal, sweetie. I doubt you're the only one who still sees him."

"I don't care! I don't want to see him in my mind. I don't want to feel scared when I have no reason. I don't want to feel like every guy who comes near me is going to kill me!" Her voice quavered as she spoke until it cracked on a sob.

Sara reached out, enfolding the shaking young woman in a hug. "Shh, it's okay, sweetie."

"He's still alive. He could come back."

She began gently rocking her. "He's going to be in jail for a long time, Mija. You're safe."

Mija raised her head to look at the Homicide detective with reddened eyes. "How can you be so sure of that?"

"Don't you know that your uncle is going to take care of you? He's going to make sure the world is as safe as he can make it for you and the rest of his family. Your dad'll do his best too."

"They can't make it 100%."

"No one can. But they can do their best. That's why Danny gave you a curfew and got so upset when you broke it. He was worried. He didn't know where you were."

"I understand that now. Why couldn't he have told me that before?"

Sara raised one eyebrow at her. "He did. So did I. You just weren't ready to listen." 

"Will you help too?"

"With keeping you safe? Mija, You're family. Of course I will."

"I want to learn to fight. So I can defend myself."

"Danny's great at martial arts."

"I want you to teach me. You're a woman."

"We'll talk to Danny about it, okay? He might want to teach you himself," she stalled, thinking of how hurt Danny would be that Mija didn't want him to teach her.

"I want to learn martial arts too. Just not yet."

"We'll talk to your uncle." She stretched slightly. "Ready to leave your sanctuary?"

Mija glanced apprehensively at the door.

"Don't worry; Gabriel's used to me acting odd; that friends of mine do won't faze him."

She nodded uncertainly and stood up. Catching sight of herself in the mirror, she pulled a face. "I look horrible!"

Sara laughed. "Clean yourself up. I'll go see what he's up to." She went to the door and opened it a crack before turning back. "Don't worry, Mija. Gabe's a good guy."

Mija nodded and turned on the water faucet.

Closing the door behind her, Sara scanned her apartment to find the other occupant.

"Over here, Pez," he called from the kitchen. "Thought I'd get us all some drinks. Hot chocolate, Pez?"

She shrugged. "Too much coffee's not good for you. Besides, chocolate cures all."

"For women."

"I'm a woman. So's Mija."

His answer was an incredulous stare that asked 'Really?' before he got serious. "She okay?"

"No, but she will be." On that note, the door opened and Mija came out.

Gabriel turned and leaned back against the counter, his body language sending out unthreatening vibes. "Hey, Mija."

"Sorry about before," she whispered.

"No problem. Gotta admit it helped me a bit," he grinned. "I'm usually the guy getting beat up on."

Startled, Sara looked towards him, aware of Mija doing the same.

A shy smile broke out on Mija's face. "Glad to be of service. That almost done," she asked, nodding towards the forgotten mugs on the counter.

"Oh, yeah," he turned and handed one to her before handing a second to Sara. Taking his own, he took a sip of the sweet liquid. "It's supposed to be a cure all, according to some," he told her, glancing at Sara.

Mija laughed softly. "According to women, you mean."

"Yeah." He waited until they had all sat down, Mija and Sara on the couch, him on the floor, before he continued. "Is it something genetic?"

"Hmm, comes with the ability to give birth, I think." Mija's answer was a chuckle and she relaxed a bit more, taking a bigger sip of her chocolate. "Do you go to school, Gabriel?"

He shook his head. "Already graduated. I have an internet business called Talismaniac.com"

"Really? What do you sell?"

"Anything unusual," he laughed. "One of a kind stuff from the past. Ancient weapons, books, that kind of stuff." He looked over at Sara who was valiantly trying not to laugh. "It's what I do!"

Sara nodded. "I know, I just… never heard it described like that."

Mija nodded to herself, writing a mental note to look up the website when she got home. "Do you enjoy it?"

"Yeah. School was okay, but they never really let me study what I wanted to. Talismaniac lets me find what interests me, without anyone telling me I'm weird or anything."

"Do you plan on going back to school?"

He shrugged. "I take a class or two every semester and NYU. Whatever looks interesting, really."

"What are you taking now?" she asked. Before he could answer, they were interrupted by a cell phone. It was Mija's. "Hello? Uncle Danny, I'm still at Sara's." There was a pause before she sighed. "Okay, I'll be there in about 30 minutes." She hung up the phone and looked apologetically at Gabriel. "Family calls."

Sara stood up and collected her empty cup to put in the sink. "No problem."

"Sara! Oh, God, I'm sorry," she started in a flurry.

Sara reached out and lightly squeezed her shoulder. "No problem."

"I, we, didn't mean to ignore you."

Sara nodded, "I know. Don't worry about it."

"When do you want to talk to Uncle Danny?"

"Depends on when you want to learn."

"I'll talk to him tonight," she decided. "Nice to meet you," she nodded at Gabriel, who had been silent.

"Ditto, Mija. Think you'll be interested in getting together again? As friends, of course. Can never have too many," he grinned at her, taking in her slightly panicked glance towards Sara. "Pez won't mind."

"Umm." She bit her lip as she tried to decide. She liked Gabriel, she did. She just wasn't sure if she could be his friend right now. Be alone with him.

"Hey, maybe Pez'll play chaperone until you're sure of me? A woman can't be too cautious." He looked over at Sara, peripherally aware that Mija was doing the same.

Sara nodded at the twin assault of hopeful eyes. "We should be able to work something out."

"Thanks, Sara."

"Yeah, thanks, Pez," Gabriel repeated. "I'll walk Mija down and then come back up, okay?" The pair left without an answer.

Sara nodded to no one in particular, extremely satisfied with how this meeting had gone. This might be just what Mija needed to start getting over the trauma from before.

* * *

The following weeks passed quickly, the trio meeting as schedules allowed for various outings, sometimes with a fourth party in the form of Jenny, Danny's daughter, whenever Mija had babysitting responsibilities.

Mija blossomed in the meantime. She had stopped disregarding her curfew and her uncle's house rules directly following the kidnapping, but had spent her nights holed up in her room, refusing to go out with her friends. Danny and Leigh had been worried about the normally extroverted teen and started trying to get her to counseling. After the second session, Mija had stormed out of the office and refused to talk to either of them.

They had decided to wait, hoping that when Mija felt safe, she would try again. Unfortunately, Dalack had known what he was doing in picking the site of the murder. He hadn't succeeded in killing young Mija, but he had succeeded in not only traumatizing her, but also taking away the security of her family, of the home she lived in.

When Mija turned to Sara, they had felt hope. Sara was notoriously protective of those she considered family. It had been Sara who figured out where Dalack was holding her, Sara who took her out of the house, Sara who convinced Danny that killing Dalack wasn't worth it. Sara would help Mija to the best of her ability and get her more help when she was ready.

It had helped. Mija had been talked into meeting with another counselor. A woman closer to her age so that she had some type of meeting ground. She had decided she needed to get her experiences out, talk about them, write about them, if she was ever going to heal properly. It wasn't something that she wanted to do, but she knew she had to. If this counselor didn't work out, both of her current guardians had agreed that they would search until they found one that did.

In addition, Sara and Danny had talked it over with Mija and began a self defense course for the teenager, her natural grace from dancing helping her learn the moves themselves quickly. It would take time for the defense to become a natural instinct, but it was a start.

Gradually, Sara eased out of her role as chaperone as Mija grew more sure of herself and confident around Gabriel. 

Mija's first few times alone with him, Gabriel had made sure they stayed in public places to help her feel comfortable. Outings in the park or the zoo with Jenny and picking her up and taking her out for ice cream after school were the norm. Until finally Mija had gotten the nerve to visit the young man at his shop for his business, awed by the wide selection of treasures he had amassed for his customers. That was a major breakthrough, she knew.

He also knew it without being told, surprising her the next day by having a bouquet of creamy white camellias delivered to her uncle's house. A delivery that not only made Mija light up at the thoughtfulness of her friend, but also made her uncle begin to wonder if he should be meeting him. Danny mentioned this to Mija and she agreed; she had already been thinking of inviting him to a dance recital.

* * *

"You know, Pez, when I agreed to Mija and Gabriel meeting, I didn't know just what type of guy Gabriel was," Danny mentioned, his hands encased in pads as Sara used them instead of one of the punching bags in the corner.

"What type of guy is he?"

"Well, look at him!"

Sara laughed and started again. "I know, he's original. But he's a good guy, Danny."

"You sure?"

"Hey, would I introduce Mija to someone who'd hurt her?"

"All right, he's a good guy. He's helped you out in the past and he's a friend of yours. You know him. That's why I felt comfortable with you introducing Mija to him without me meeting him beforehand. I just didn't know he dressed like that."

"You have a problem with how someone dresses? Danny, you shop at thrift shops and it's been months since you had your hair cut!"

"She's my niece, Sara."

"I know, Danny, and she won't be happy if she walks in while we're talking about this, would she?"

"Probably not."

Unbeknownst to the two sparring partners, their conversation was overheard by the one person who could cause the most damage to what they were talking about.

Mija herself stood frozen around the corner of the door, damning word of the conversation echoing in her ears. It was true what they said: eavesdroppers rarely heard good of themselves. Or people who were supposed to be their friends, apparently.

A low sound of pain tore from her throat at the conspiracy she had unwittingly revealed. At the overwhelming sense of betrayal she felt.

"You hear that?" was said softly in her uncle's voice.

"Yeah, lemme go check it out." The sounds of punches stopped and footsteps echoed on the flooring.

Her first thought that she had to get away made Mija turn and flee as quickly and quietly as possible. She needed some time to figure this out.

The betrayal.

Her hurt feelings dimmed as anger built inside her. Her uncle and Sara weren't the only people who had been a part of this, There was at least one more conspirator: someone who had pretended to be her friend. Someone she had no problems with confronting. Without further though, she turned on her heel and left the police department. Her anger carried her as far as Talismaniac and she pushed her way into the cramped space when Gabriel answered the summoning knocks.

"Mija?" He stared at the teenager before him. "I gotta go" he said into the phone he held.

"Don't you 'Mija' me!" she hissed as she planted both hands on his chest and succeeded in pushing him away so she could pace.

"What's wrong?" He leaned against the wall, carefully keeping his body language non-threatening and making sure he wasn't blocking the door if she wanted to leave.

" 'What's wrong?' You want to know what's wrong? How could you?!" She flung her hands out in a wild gesture.

"Mija," he started in what he hoped was a soothing voice, "unless you tell me what you think I did, I can't even start to answer."

"You know. You have to. I overheard Uncle Danny and Sara talking about it. It was Sara's idea!"

He grimaced. "Oh, that."

"Yeah, that," she repeated sarcastically. "How could you?"

He shrugged. "Thought it would help. It couldn't hurt."

She stopped pacing, fixing him with a glare that made him shift uncomfortably. "It couldn't hurt?" she repeated in a low growl. "It couldn't hurt who? You? Obviously. How the _hell _did you guys think I'd feel finding out you're only a friend because of pity? Because you were asked to be?"

Gabriel straightened from where he was learning against the wall. Now wait-a-minute, Mija."

"No, you wait a minute! Where do you get off being like that? I _confided_ in you. I trusted you! And all this time you've been lying to me."

"I never lied to you."

"No, you just didn't mention you were asked to be my friend, right?"

He grimaced again. "Okay, it sounds bad when you put it like that."

"It sounds bad no matter how you say it, Gabriel."

He sighed, knowing that if he was going to talk to her, she had to settle down. He watched her pace in the small confines, involuntarily flinching with each hand gesture she made. "Why don't you sit down?"

"Because I don't want to!" she snapped, glaring at him again.

"Mija, sit down!" He repeated, almost as surprised as she was at the authority in his voice. 

An authority she automatically responded to before snapping out of it. "Don't even presume to tell me what to do, Gabriel Bowman! You're as bad as Dalack.

He sat down, beside her and dropped his head into his hands. "Low blow, Mija. I'm nothing like Carl Dalack."

"Let's see," she ticked off points on her fingers," you had an ulterior motive for meeting me, you lied to me, you pretended to care… Seems a lot like Dalack to me."

"I'm nothing like Dalack," he repeated. "I'd never hurt you. I didn't mean to order you around, okay? This," he gestured at the crowded shelves and surfaces, "is my place of business. My livelihood."

She had begun to soften, responding to the reassuring voice and memories of their get-togethers the past few weeks when the hypocrisy of what he was saying sank in. "Your life. You're livelihood. This isn't about you!" she exclaimed, one hand flinging out again.

This time it connected, sending a glazed funerary urn from it's relatively safe place towards the floor. Gabriel lunged forward, his knees connected audibly with the concrete as he caught the pottery. Placing it gently on the floor out of the way, he looked up. "That's why I wanted you to sit down."

"Oh." She folded her hands in her lap, her anger having drained out of her while seeing Gabriel catch what she knocked over. Who knew how much that small piece could be worth? "Sorry. Are you okay?"

Gabriel sighed and shifted so he was sitting instead of kneeling. "I'm fine." Taking a deep breath, he tried again. "Ready to listen now?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"Of course you have a choice!"

"It doesn't seem like it from over here," she pointed out sulkily.

"Mija, no one asked me to be your friend." He saw her about to interrupt and raised a hand to stop her. "No one asked me. Pez did ask if she introduced us and we hit it off, if we could be."

"So you admit it!"

"I admit what? That Sara introduced us? You already knew that!"

"No," she waved that away with a hand. "That I knew, I meant that she asked if you'd be a friend."

"What was she supposed to ask?" he asked in an exasperated voice. "If I'd be your enemy?"

"No," she accepted in a small voice.

"Mija, what's the problem here? Not your anger or anything, but the reason you're acting like this?"

"Pity," she whispered after a few minutes of silence.

"What?"

"Pity!" she exploded. "I don't want anyone to pity me, okay? All my friends look at me and they see someone stupid, someone who was almost killed. I'm sick and tired of being pitied, of being stared at, of being whispered about! I just want my life to get back to normal. I want to forget I ever met Carl Dalack."

"That's no problem, then. I don't pity you."

"Yeah, right."

"I don't," he repeated as he moved closer. "Mija, pity isn't something to base a friendship on. Yes, Sara asked if I'd meet you. She thought it'd help. She didn't want to cause more trouble."

She looked at the floor. "You don't?" 

"No," he answered, shaking his head in a negative motion as a grin broke out on his lips. "I think you're one of the strongest people I know. You've been through something horrible, something no one ever should. But you did, and you survived."

"I didn't win," she contradicted in a whisper.

"Sure you did. You're alive."

"But I let him control me!" She raised tortured eyes to meet his.

"Every experience in life changes you, changes how you react. Every experience, the good and the bad. That doesn't mean he's won or you've lost."

"It doesn't?"

Gabe left his seat on the hard floor and moved to kneel in front of her. "Mija," he started softly, "is that why you've been fighting therapy and withdrawing from your friends?" Suddenly he had a shuddering body against his, arms wrapped around his neck in a stranglehold. He felt a nod. "Therapy's to help you get better."

"But I… I don't want to talk about it!" was forced out with a sob.

He started to rub her back in gentle circles. "I know."

"No, you don't," she mumbled.

"Well, I've never been to therapy or the reason you're going, but I have been to therapy. More times than I can count. They're there to help, Mija." He lifted her tearstained face to look into her eyes. "Even when you don't want them to be there."

Mija's answer was a quick nod of her head followed by an almost audible swallow. She leaned into his warmth again, for the first time since she was kidnapped letting someone else be strong for her.

Above her head, Gabriel nodded to himself, knowing that his young friend had a hard road ahead of her but that she'd taken her first real step. He leaned down to gently press his lips to her hair in a small kiss before holding onto her tightly in a healing hug.

The End

Notes: I thought about writing a sequel, but I have to admit, I kinda like where this ended, so chances are good there won't be one. Hope you enjoyed! As always, reviews are welcome.


End file.
